Quality Time

ARTICLES ABOUT QUALITY TIME BY DATE - PAGE 2

In his blue sweat pants and matching Reebok cap, Kelvin Screene might've been any 13-year-old on a boat ride with his father and sister Monday on the St. James River. But Kelvin is from Dover, England. The boat was an Army landing craft. And the ride was part of a dream that the Make-A-Wish-Foundation and Army in Hampton Roads was granting this very sick teenager. Kelvin has craniopharyngioma, a condition that produces non-cancerous brain tumors that can be fatal. The condition has taken Kelvin's sight in his left eye, dimmed the sight in his right and threatens his life.

Q: I have been looking for a survey the Capital One credit card company publishes each year about school spending. I haven't seen it this year. Did they release it yet? -- C.A., Williamsburg. A: The survey on school spending by www.myvesta.org, a nonprofit organization, and Capitol One has been released for the second year in a row. The companies surveyed families on their school supply plans and found: Top school supplies for 2002-03 include frosted three-ring binders (67 percent)

You won't be able to convince the girls on Jamestown's AA Field Hockey Invitational championship team that their 1999 state title wasn't the real deal. Nevertheless, there's something about the Virginia High School League stamp of approval that gives a statewide high school tournament a little more credibility. Thanks to the efforts of VHSL assistant director Claudia Dodson, the first league-sanctioned unclassified state field hockey tournament will be held this fall. The event, set for Bruton High on November 7 and Nov. 10-11, will include both state Group AA and A teams.

The last thing Stephanie Woodrum saw before the power went out was a picture of her 18-year-old son. He had joined the Marines and was in boot camp on Parris Island, S.C., when Hurricane Floyd tore its way to the Carolina coastlines. Sitting at her dining room table, Stephanie sat in front of her computer screen and searched for the latest news on the Marines' evacuation. As it turned out, the recruits were evacuated by bus to Albany, Ga., and one of the young men featured in the accompanying news photo was her own boy. Stephanie held up her black-handled flashlight as the sun set Sunday, looking once again at the photo she managed to print out before the lights went out Wednesday night.

Not every family in Hampton Roads had a tree fall on their house or water lap at their doorstep Thursday. Many, like Theda Jones and her family, spent a rather uneventful day playing cards and conjuring up funny memories. There was very little drama but a lot of classic "quality time" inside Jones' small ranch house in the Holly Homes section of Hampton. After all, Jones has the three essentials of storm survival - cards, candles and junk food. "We're not afraid of this storm at all," the 73- year-old said.

After seven months cloistered in barracks, the first women to attend the Virginia Military Institute broke their silence Tuesday and said the school's fabled Rat Line was intimidating and exhausting. But it was equal-opportunity torment, they said - a relentless assault on their senses and muscles that was as blind to their gender as it was to their misery. "I definitely think we have been treated the same way as the men as far as being yelled at and doing push-ups," said Alexis Abrams, 19, of Alexandria, one of 23 women who survived VMI's ritual of freshman abuse and harassment, which began in August and ended Monday.

Q Does the Animal Aid Society in Hampton have a program called Pet Pals? If so, what is it? - D.L., Newport News. A Yes, Pet Pals exists and is doing well with more than 80 people participating, according to the the Animal Aid Society. The program is for folks who want to befriend a dog waiting for adoption. The cost is $1 a month. As a Pet Pal, you won't feed dogs or clean their pens. You simply get all their sloppy affection in exchange for a walk or snack. The idea of the program is human-and-dog social time that lets dogs know they aren't alone while waiting for adoption.

GLORIA WARD Age: 30 Occupation: Administrative assistant, Signet Mortgage Corp. in the Oyster Point section of Newport News. Also works part-time as a Mary Kay consultant and as a consultant for Melaleuca Inc., a marketing firm. Personal: Married to Jay. They have two kids, Ronique, 8, and Keith, 6. They live in Newport News. Quote: "It's hard going home and trying not to let the kids know that I am too tired to spend time with them. They want and need so much attention, especially in the mornings.

What is fatherhood like in the '90s? It could be broken down into a few powerful words: "extremely rewarding but very hectic." After being childless for about 20 years of marriage, two years ago my wife and I adopted two boys in Romania. I can remember that first Father's Day over there in Romania as we waited for our final court documents to be processed. That falls into the "very hectic" part. Now after watching our two boys grow and develop into their very different personalities, I understand how "extremely rewarding" children can be. Watching those two little guys growing daily can be rewarding for a parent.

Because she knows how important the support of family and friends is to a cancer patient, Pam Robins is working with a group organizing the Gloucester Chapter of the Peninsula Cancer Support Group. "We've only had two meetings. We're just getting starting so we haven't really gotten it out to the public. That's what we trying to do now. I know there is a need for it here," Robins says. Two meetings are held each month. The first on the second Monday, is a combined educational meeting at the Riverside Conference Center.